GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

S	1 

SENATE BILL 869

Short Title:  Master Application.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Senators Plyler and Conder.
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Referred to:  Judiciary II.
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April 15, 1993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO IMPLEMENT A MASTER APPLICATION SYSTEM FOR BUSINESS LICENSES AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO IMPLEMENT THE MASTER APPLICATION SYSTEM.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 147-54.16 reads as rewritten:
"§ 147-54.16.  Master application system.
	The Office shall implement and administer an automated master application system. The Office shall determine the licenses appropriate for inclusion in the master application system.  The Office may not include environmental licenses in the master application system.
The appropriate agency shall continue to determine whether a requested license shall be issued and to issue the license if the application is approved by the agency.  An applicant who receives written notification by the Office that a license requested through the Office is being issued by the appropriate agency may proceed with the licensed business activity without having physical possession of the issued license.
The Office shall collect from each applicant the total amount of the fees for the licenses applied for through the Office. The Office is the repository for an original signed application form submitted through the Office for a license that is included in the master application system.  If, based on the information supplied by the applicant to the Office, the Office fails to make application for a required license, and the applicant did not know such a license was required, the applicant shall not be liable for any civil or criminal penalties or disciplinary action for failure to have the license.  If the failure to obtain the license is reported to the applicant by either the Office or the agency issuing the license, the applicant must make application within 30 days or be subject to the penalties or disciplinary action."
Sec. 2.  The Business License Information Office shall implement a master application system as described in Article 4B of Chapter 147 of the General Statutes.  The master application system shall be implemented in two phases as described below over a period of two years.  The first phase of the process to implement the master application system shall be completed by July 1, 1994.  The Department of the Secretary of State shall evaluate the first phase of the implementation of the master application system and shall report to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations by October 1, 1995, regarding the evaluation.  The second phase of the process to implement the master application system shall be completed by January 1, 1996.
(1) 	Phase I.  Applicant Tracking Module.
	This phase shall consist of the following automated functions:  recording and tracking of inquiries regarding business licenses, identification of required licenses, and monitoring of the status of the resulting applications.  The original signed license applications received by the Office during this phase shall be forwarded by the Office to the appropriate licensing agency.
(2)	Phase II.  Application Generation Module.
	During this phase the Office shall implement the centralized application process so that a master application may be generated for those licenses deemed appropriate by the Office for inclusion in the master application system.  The Office shall retain the original signed license applications for licenses requested through the Office that are included in the master application system.
Sec. 3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of the Secretary of State the sum of four hundred thirty-eight thousand one hundred thirty-nine dollars ($438,139) for the 1993-94 fiscal year and the sum of two hundred three thousand two hundred fifteen dollars ($203,215) for the 1994-95 fiscal year to implement the master application system as provided in G.S. 147-54.16.
Sec. 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1993.